This seems reasonable enough to me (reasonable perhaps being a pun). As pointed out, lottery sales are recession proof too. And really, aren't these decisions driven by emotion? Decisions in the throws of desperation I think are mostly emotional. And I believe that when it comes to a battle between emotion and reason, reason doesn't stand a chance! And ultimately, this is good news as I am thinking of entering this venerable area of work :) After all, if soothsaying isn't the world's oldest profession then it must be the second oldest--it has stood the test of time; time I cashed in :)) --Mike
--- On Sat, 2/7/09, Christopher D. Green <[email protected]> wrote: From: Christopher D. Green <[email protected]> Subject: [tips] Psychic's business booming in tough economy - CNN.com To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" <[email protected]> Date: Saturday, February 7, 2009, 11:01 AM When there's not enough money for rent and food, what do people spend their money on? Psychics, apparently. I would think that even people who normally go in for this kind of stuff would regard it as an amusing luxury; one of the first things to be cut when times get tough. But I am wrong because, as is my wont, I reflexively assume that most people are minimally rational (despite the massive number of times I have been shown otherwise by both research and everyday experience). So what is the psychological explanation for this? That when hard time are upon us people feel more desperate than ever for an extra little "edge," and they think that psychics might provide it? http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/02/05/psychics.economy/index.html Then again, perhaps the whole article is junk. This is just one psychic who just happens to say, in the midst of a rare and enormous promotional opportunity (being intereviewed by CNN), that business is better than ever before and that even people in business suits have begun to come 'round. I only hope this is the case. Chris -- #yiv534713936 p.p1 {margin:0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;font:16.0px Times New Roman;} #yiv534713936 span.s1 {font:16.0px Lucida Grande;} Christopher D. Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 Canada 416-736-2100 ex. 66164 [email protected] http://www.yorku.ca/christo/ ========================== --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected]) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
